Improved clothes-wringer



Exif

ffy A UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STEPHEN HEowELL, OE MELROSE, AssicNoE To HiMsELE AND A. CHIP- f MAN, OE EOsTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVED CLOTH ES-WRINGER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 35,9l0, dated July l5, 1862.

T0 all whom, t may concern,.-

Beit known that I, STEPHEN P. ROWELL, of Melrose, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 'in Clothes- Wringing Machines, and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a front View of my invention, partly in section. Fig. 2 is a side View of the same, partly in section; Fig. 3, adetached external view of one of the' rollers of the same. Fig. 4 is a view of one of' the rollers having its covering bisectedlongitudinally. Fig. 5 is a transverse section of Fig. 3, taken in the line a: x, Fig. 3.

Similar letters of reference indicate corre` sponding parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to an improved clothes-wringing machine of that class i n which pressurerollers are employed for expressing the moisture from the clothes; and it consists in an improved means for adjusting the spring or pressure bar of the upper or yielding roller, whereby the machine may be adapted with the greatest facility for operating upon fine or heavy clothes, as may be required.

The invention also consists in an improvenient in the construction ofthe rollers, whereby the india-rubber which forms the covering of' the same may be permanently secured in proper position without the liability oftnrning on the shaft or slipping longitudinally thereon.

The invention further consists in a novel and improved means for securing the machine to the wash-tub,whereby a firm attachment is obtained by an exceedingly simple arrangement.

To enable those skilled in .the art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents the frame of the machine,which may be constructed in the usual way-to wit, of two vertical bars, a a, connected by cross` bars b b.

B B represent the two pressure-rollers, which are placed one over the other in the same axial plane. The lowerl roller, B, has its journals fitted in fixed bearings inthe vertical bars a a of the frame A, but the upper roller,

B', has its journals fitted in sliding bearings C C, which work in grooves c, in the inner surfaces of the bars c c. On these bearings C C the ends of a bar, D, rest. This bar may be rigid or have a certain degree of elasticity,and in the center of its upper surface thereis fitted a piece of indiarubber, E, against which a cam, F, bears. The cam F is at the lower end of a lever, G, the fulcrum-pin d of which passes throughthe upper cross bar, b', of the frame A, as shown in Fig. 1.

The cam F is formed with three sides, 1, 2, and 3, which are at different distances from the fulcrum-pin d, the side l being the nearest, the side 2 a little farther off, and the side 3 a little farther off' still, and any one of these sides may be made to bear upon the rubber spring E by adjusting the lever G. Vhen the side l of the cam is in contact with the spring E, the pressure of the upper roller, B, on the lower one, B, will be comparatively light, and the rollers are thereby adapted for having heavy clothes passed between them. When the side 2 of the cam is in contact with the spring E, the rollers are adapted for rather finer clothes, and they are adapted for the finest clothes by bringing the side 3 of the cam p in contact with the spring E. Thus by this simple arrangement the rollers may be adapted to suit dierent kinds of clothes, the upper roller, B', at the same time being allowed to yield or give, as usual, to the irregularities of the larger clothes passing between them. In consequence of having the indiarubber spring E fitted in a recess in the bar D, it is prevented from spreading laterally under the pressure to which it is subjected, and it is rendered not only mor-e durable, but greater elasticity is obtained with a spring of a given size than if it were not confined in the recess. The upper surface of the spring may be protected by a metal plate or a wooden cover, e.

The rollers B B are constructed as follows: The bodies of the shafts, f, of the rollers are square, as shownin Fig. 4, constructed of metal, and have four wooden segments, q, fitted to them to form a cylinder. These segments are each covered with a suitable cloth, h, the edges of which are fitted in the angular rabbet in the inner sides of the segments which receive the shaft, the cloth being thus retained on the segments bythe shaft; and to insure a properadhesion of the eloth to the segments india-rubber or any suitable oenient or glue may be employed. The covered segments are bound tirmly to the shaft f by bands i, which fit in grooves :made eiroumferentially in the seg- '1nents, so that the outer surfaces of said bands will be Hush with the outer surfaces ofthe segments. Each roller is covered with an india rubber tube, H, which may be seenred onthe segments g by any suitable cement. By this mode of construction the tubes H cannot turn on the shafts or segments g, as the tubes will adhere firmly to the segments, and the latter of course cannot turn on the shafts f. The chief objection therefore to the indiarubber roiiers as heretofore used is obviated-to wit, the liability to turn on their shafts, a contingenoy occasioned by the difoulty in firmly securing the rubber to the metal shafts, and

4.which is fully obviated by myinvention.

In the lower part of each vertical bar a of the frame A there is fitted a hook, I. The Shanks j of these hooks pass horizontally through the bars a, and they have screwthreads out on their outer ends, on which thnmbhuts J are fitted. The hooks extend down nearly parallel with the lower parts of' the bars a a, as shown clearly in Fig. 2. In adjusting the machine to the tub the hooks I are at its inner side, and by turning the thumb- :nuts J the hooks are brought snugly against the inner side of the tub and the lower ends of the bars a al pressed against the outerside, and the shanks j are made slightly taper at their under side, so that they may Work a trifle in the bars a, under the action of the nuts J, and insure the hooks being brought in Contact with the tub from their points upward, and thereby cause the machine to be firmly clamped thereto.

VHaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is

l. The cam F, provided with a plurality of l sides, l, 2,'and 3, at different distances from the fulernin-pin d of the lever G, to which the earn is attached, in combination with the bar D and pressure-rollers BB", and with or Without the spring E, all arranged for joint operation, as and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. Constructing the rollers B B of Wooden segments g, applied to the shafts f, covered with cloth h, secured by the bands i and covered with the rubber tubes H, substantially as described.

STEPHEN P. HOWELL. Witnesses:

CALEB HOWARD, JAMES G. EMERSON. 

